Posts filed under 'Gadgets & Technology'
For six months, 25 Industrial Design MA students from London’s CSM College of Art and Design have been working to create concepts for a premium but mass market mobile device capable of providing 4G or 5G multimedia services.
The students worked for a cash prize and, more importantly, for the chance to work side-by-side with Nokia’s design team during a summer placement at the Nokia design studios.
The winning design, was also made into a dummy handset for an exhibition in London’s Air Gallery this week.
One of the designs, the Nokia Scentsory, is superb, partly because it reminds us of the paper clackers that we used to make many, many years ago in the innocent days of our childhood. In Closed mode you use it like a slim candy bar phone, in open mode you can use the screens and keyboard. But the real piece of resistance is the Scentsory mode that uses scent detectors that “allow you to see, hear, feel and smell your caller’s environment”.
The winner of the competition is the Nokia 111 by Daniel Meyer, and this is where the New Age speak goes into overdrive. The phone looks - to our eye - like a candy bar with a hinge in the middle, but it is, apparently: “Inspired both by the advent of video calling and the traditional practice of carrying pictures of friends or family members with you. The handset is designed to sit as a picture frame wherever the user is, serving the dual purpose of communications device and a comforting familiar focal point; at home, at work or in a hotel while away on business.”
“This concept means to encourage new behaviours. As a piece of electronic furniture the user creates a new relationship to the product and treats it differently. Pieces of furniture belong somewhere, unlike the mobile phone which belongs nowhere. This encourages people to find favourite places to leave the device. It is not only a portable phone but also a piece of home that you can carry around with you. It’s an emotional object that creates a comforting effect by reminding you of a favourite place or special person.”
The Future of Mobile Design exhibition will run from 13th - 16th June 2006 at the Air Gallery, Dover Street, London W1S, open daily from 10am until 6pm.
June 16th, 2006
Samsung may try to unofficially claim the throne as the king of slim, but their fellow Korean companies aren’t going to give up without a fight. One of their biggest competitors, in the cell phone market anyways, is LG Electronics, and it seems that LG wants a big piece of the ultra-thin pie for themselves. The Korean manufacturer has just unveiled a new TFT LCD display that is a mere 1.48mm thick, or about 0.058-inches for those of you who aren’t metrically inclined.
Showcased in both 2.0 and 2.2-inch sizes, this new display will handle QVGA resolutions without a hitch, and they’re proposing various applications. I’m sure you can guess a few of these, like portable gaming machines, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and multimedia players. If integrated into a new batch of mobile phones, along with some other slim stuff, Samsung may have quite a battle for themselves when it comes to maintaining that they also have the “world’s thinnest”.
No word on when the TFT LCD’s will be available, and whether they plan on selling the technology for other companies’ uses.
June 7th, 2006
Kyocera K822 A perfect phone for audiophiles — the Kyocera K822 is a stylish, feature-rich handset that delivers a high-quality music experience, whether listening to digital music on the music player that supports MP3, AAC/AAC+ and WMA/Windows Media DRM technology or tuning in the FM radio on the phone’s built-in stereo speakers. Expandable MicroSD memory, with cards available up to 512 megabytes, accommodates hours of music, whether at the gym or on the road. Bluetooth wireless technology enables wireless stereo headsets and numerous other wireless accessories announced by Kyocera Wireless at the CTIA Wireless trade show.
Extending its entertainment value, the K822 offers video record and playback and a large, vivid TFT display ideally suited to music videos, gaming, photos and more. An external color display supports photo caller ID with images loaded onto the phone or taken with its 1.3 megapixel camera with a dedicated camera button, integrated flash and digital zoom. Kyocera will offer the phone with either BREW(TM) 3.1.4 or JAVA(TM) MIDP 2.0, allowing users to easily download a wide selection of music, games, ringers, contacts and more. The phone’s extensive productivity tools include room for 500 contacts, loud and clear speakerphone, and easy file transfer via USB or serial cable. Measuring 3.5 x 1.8 x 1 inches, and weighing 4 oz., the K822 has a talk time of up to four hours and standby time of up to 163 hours and is scheduled to launch with CDMA carriers in Q3 2006.
Kyocera K320/K340 Series Understanding the diverse needs of carriers and consumers alike, Kyocera Wireless introduced several options in mid-tier camera phones. The Kyocera K320 Series, with two distinct industrial designs, is perfect for the multitasking family member seeking a stylish, affordable, easy-to-use camera phone. This sleek color clamshell offers true convenience, with an easy-access speakerphone, side volume controls and a full array of productivity tools. The K320 Series features Bluetooth wireless technology, a VGA camera with a dedicated camera button, external caller ID and a larger internal display that is ideal for Kyocera’s renowned pinwheel user interface. Its small, compact styling and internal antenna make it easy to drop into a pocket or backpack. Kyocera Wireless will also make available a version of the K320 Series with push-to-talk walkie-talkie capabilities, including a dedicated push-to-talk button. Measuring 3.54 x 1.81 x .92 inches and weighing 3.4 oz., the K320 Series has a talk time of up to 3.5 hours, standby time of up to 165 hours and will be available in Q2 2006.
For those looking to step up to an even more feature-rich phone at an affordable price-point, the K340 Series is made for those who crave convenience with some extra high-performance mobile features. The stylish, color clamshell design builds on the K320 Series by offering the same array of features plus a 1.3 megapixel camera with video record and playback and a color external display for photo caller ID. The phone’s camera includes a number of advanced photo-taking options including multi-shot adjustment, auto focus, self timer, resolution adjustment, white balance, color effects and fun frames. The feature set is rounded out by advanced voice recognition, speakerphone, a WAP browser, BREW 3.1.4 and more. Measuring 3.54 x 1.81 x .92 inches and weighing 3.4 ounces, Kyocera K342 has a talk time of up to 3.5 hours, standby time of up to 165 hours and will be available globally with CDMA carriers in Q3 2006.
The Kyocera K352, built for international 800 MHz CDMA markets, is an ultra-slim, bar-style music phone for the young, urban set seeking an affordable, feature-packed handset. A music player with dedicated control buttons and 256 megabytes of onboard memory mean hours of music at the user’s fingertips, while USB 2.0 support makes it a breeze to manage the play list from a PC. The phone will ship with a hands-free stereo headset, a $25 retail value. Rounded out with a VGA camera, large 1.8-inch display and full data capabilities, the K352 is just what the hipster on a budget needs. Measuring 4.13 x 1.71 x 0.6 inches and weighing just three ounces, Kyocera K352 has a talk time of up to 170 minutes and standby time of up to 121 hours. It will launch with international CDMA carriers in Q3 2006.
June 7th, 2006
The SonyReader offers a new and convenient digital reading experience. It boasts an amazing screen with technology that rivals text on paper. Weighing less than 9 ounces and at only ½” thin, it’s more compact than many paperbacks. Plus, it comes with software that seamlessly allows you to search and browse thousands of electronic book titles from the Connect eBookstore and then easily transfer from your PC to your Sony Reader. With built-in memory and multi-format support, you can take many of your favorite titles and documents with you. So compact and convenient, you’ll want to take it everywhere.
The Sony Reader offers a unique, on-the-go reading experience. With a very compact and lightweight design, you can take it almost anywhere. More compact than many paperbacks, it weighs under nine ounces and is less than ½” thin. You can easily hold it in one hand while sipping coffee with the other. You can bring multiple titles to read while traveling without adding weight and bulk to your luggage. And with its rechargeable battery, you can turn approximately 7,500 pages on a single charge. Bring more, pack less… it’s the perfect solution for people on-the-go.
June 7th, 2006
White’s been “the new black” for yonks, and its reign appears to be everlasting as vendors embrace the colour more passionately than sixties teens embraced rock music.
The O2 Xda Atom is the latest device to be given a white makeover, with the new version being dubbed the “Xda Atom Pure (Limited Edition)”. It offers the exact same feature-set as the original Atom, with aesthetics being the only differentiating factor.
Clearly marketing the device towards the iPod generation, O2 says the Atom Pure “will give the fashion-conscious and young mobile professional the opportunity to be stylish and co-ordinate their wardrobe without having to compromise on the functionality of their mobile device.” The fact that handheld devices are so ubiquitous that they now have an impact on our personal image and sense of style is chilling, but few can argue with the Atom’s good looks.
It’s not all form and no function, however — some of the Atom’s more distinguishing features include a 2-megapixel camera, FM tuner, 2.7″ QVGA touchscreen, O2 Media Plus multimedia playback software and the Microsoft Office software suite.
According to O2, “only 1,000 units of the limited edition Xda Atom Pure will be available in Australia from end-April at a recommended retail price of AUD$1,229, inclusive of GST and a one-year local warranty. They will be available at Harvey Norman, Harris Technology and all major IT and phone retail outlets.”
June 4th, 2006
Ross Lovegrove recently won The World Technology Prize for Design in San Francisco, and after considering ‘Swarovski Crystal Aerospace’ for Swarovski Crystal Palace, one can recognise why. Lovegrove’s focus for this design is transport and sustainability; he presents a solar powered hybrid concept car for our future. The synergies between the alternative energy source, the materials and design are immaculate, rendering the obvious style as effortless. Each of the 1,000 Sharp solar panels has a specially constructed Swarovski crystal embedded in it.
Lovegrove has worked with Sharp Solar Europe, Swarovski Optical laboratories, General Motors Europe Design Director – Anthony Lo and Coggiola, the automobile prototype specialist in Torino to bring this car for the future to life.
He started his career in the 1980’s at Frog Design in Germany on projects for Apple Computers and Sony. He gained further notoriety when invited to join the Atelier de Nimes in Paris along with Jean Nouvel and Phillipe Stark. His products range from the Walkman, watches and kitchenware, to outdoor lighting and airplane interiors for clients including British Airways, Kartell, Phillips and Mazda. He has won many awards and his work is held in permanent collections in design museums around the world including Museum of Modern Art and the Design Museum in London.
Lovegrove is one of the design world’s stars, famous for his rounded shapes that push technology and materials. He has won countless design awards and has been in shows at MoMA, London’s Design Museum, the Centre Pompidou, and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. At the Salone del Mobile in Milan this year, Thonet exhibited Lovegrove’s 8 chair, which riffs on the company’s bent-wood classic; and downstairs in his studio an assistant is working on another exhibit for the fair, bathroom designs for the Turkish company VitrA. With more than 100 pieces in it–everything from tiles to taps and bidets–it’s one of the biggest bathroom projects ever by a single designer. Then there’s the lighting for Yamagiwa to come out soon in Europe and the United States, a new TV for Sony, cell phones for an upstart Finnish company, and new wire-frame seating for Knoll, not to mention a car for Swarovski’s Crystal Palace series.
Usually designers make some sort of crystal chandelier for the Swarovski exhibit at the Milan furniture fair. But Lovegrove insists he’s not the chandelier sort despite his hugely inventive lighting for Yamagiwa that rethinks the shape and function of fluorescent tubes. Instead he’s making a solar-powered concept car, in keeping for a designer who made his own windmill when he was a teenager.
May 31st, 2006
Ever get caught short - of battery power that is - when you’re out and about with your portable music player of choice? It might be worth considering MobiBlu’s DAH-1900 MP3 player, which claims to have the longest battery life of any on the market - up to 153 hours on a single battery charge.
To help conserve battery life, the DAH-1900 uses an OLED (Organic LED display), with the bright yellow and blue display offering two lines of text and two rows of icons on its 128 x 64 pixel resolution screen, which can be used to stream song lyrics, courtesy of an editable Auto Lyric system.
Also packed into the miniature case is an FM tuner and FM recorder backed by a timer function and alarm clock which can wake you up with radio or MP3 playback, along with a built-in microphone that acts as a voice recorder and a Direct Encoding function to record from external sound sources. The music player supports MP3, WMA and WMA DRM and there’s also 3D surround sound and bass enhancement to boost sound quality.
Available in both black and white and in 1GB and 2GB models, you can pick the DAH-1900 up for £125 and £159 respectively.
May 28th, 2006
Sony has now officially announced their VAIO Type U, and they will be on sale at the end of May 2006. The Sony VGN-UX50 measures 150.2×95mm or 100.5×23.2mm for 520g and runs Windows XP. With a screen size of 4.5” WSVGA 1024×600 touch screen, a Core Solo U1300 at 1.06Ghz (UX50) or a Core Solo U1400 at 1.2Ghz (UX90) (Celeron processor is optional), a 20 or 30GB HDD, a 1.3MP camera and webcam, Wireless a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, a CF and MS slot. Battery life should be 3.5 hours.
You also get a stylus, WWAN (Wide Area Network). The UX model has two built-in cameras - one in fron for VoIP or conferencing and another on the back to take photos. For security and if you don’t want to remember passwords, it comes equipped with a biometric fingerprint sensor.
The VAIO UX Micro PC will be available in July for $1,800. Stay tune as Laptop Logic will cover this device and other Ultra Mobile PCs!
May 28th, 2006
Vosonic had a stand provided rather well, among the many models flash noname, we could see the VP6230 and the VP6310, two audio/video walkmans with hard disk (1,8 ” and 2,5 “). They have of a slot for chart-memory, a color screen TFT LCD of 2,5 ” and compatible with formats AVI, MOV, MPEG 1-4, Xvid, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, JPEG, tiff, BMP. These walkmans are of rather good quality of manufacture, robust, the screen is correct. But especially, Vosonic presented the VP8360, a walkman with DD 2,5 ” of 20Go with 120Go, rather large, able to read AVI, MOV, MPEG1-4, Xvid, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, JPEG, tiff, BMP, GIF, RAW. It has a slot SD, MMC, MANDELEVIUM, CF, mini SD,tuner FM, of mini plays and it can record video and audio. Its dimensions are of 77×135x23mm for 236g! On the other hand this walkman is not especially made for the nomads.
May 15th, 2006
Designer Andre Minoli has created the hand-cranked Motorola PVOT phone, aimed at developing countries. It gives up a minute of talk time for every 25 turns of the crank, giving new meaning to the term “crank calls.” All that cranking charges up a AA battery inside, powering a 125×125 dot matrix LCD controlled by a futuristic-looking “Eraser Shield” keypad.
Minoli’s Motorola PVOT is a great design not only for developing nations, but it could come in handy for us developed countries, too, as we wind our way through Peak Oil and into World War III. If the phone’s durable enough, it might even last until World War IV, which will no doubt be fought with sticks and clubs.
May 9th, 2006
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